Silence.
The mirror stood motionless in the center of the chamber.
Its flawless surface reflected Kael exactly as he was now—a young man carrying countless burdens upon his shoulders. Yet just behind his reflection stood the faint silhouette of the child from his memories.
The child smiled.
Not because Kael had succeeded.
But because he had finally begun remembering.
The World Tree's words continued echoing through the chamber.
**"Trial... incomplete."**
Kael lowered his gaze.
"So this isn't enough."
"No."
The Traveler's calm voice answered.
"The Fourth Lock is unlike the others."
"It cannot be forced open."
"It cannot be defeated."
"It can only be accepted."
Kael remained silent.
The child had asked only one thing.
**Don't become someone I wouldn't recognize.**
Simple words.
Yet they carried more weight than every prophecy Kael had heard.
---
The chamber slowly changed.
The white floor dissolved beneath his feet.
The mirror disappeared.
Darkness spread in every direction.
Then...
A familiar road appeared.
Kael frowned.
He recognized it immediately.
The Imperial Academy.
Students hurried between stone buildings while instructors shouted across the training grounds. Young knights sparred with wooden swords while mages practiced beginner spells that exploded more often than they succeeded.
Everything looked exactly as it had years ago.
The academy before everything changed.
Kael quietly walked through the courtyard.
No one noticed him.
He was merely an observer.
A group of first-year students laughed near the fountain.
One complained about failing a spell.
Another joked that he would probably become a farmer instead of a mage.
Kael smiled faintly.
Their worries had once seemed enormous.
Now they felt almost precious.
A familiar laugh suddenly reached his ears.
He froze.
Aren.
The young warrior sat beneath a large tree, eating two lunches instead of one.
Across from him sat Lyra, already buried beneath a mountain of books.
"You'll become blind if you keep reading while eating."
Lyra didn't even look up.
"And you'll become round if you keep eating while talking."
Aren gasped dramatically.
"My physique is perfectly balanced."
"It's balanced around food."
He pretended to be deeply wounded.
Kael couldn't stop himself from laughing.
He had forgotten moments like these.
Moments without battles.
Without destiny.
Without death.
Just...
Friends.
The memory continued.
Lyra suddenly closed her book.
"Where's Kael?"
Aren looked around.
"He said he'd be back after helping the groundskeeper."
Lyra sighed.
"Again?"
"He helped the librarian yesterday."
"The kitchen this morning."
"And now the groundskeeper."
Aren shrugged.
"That's just Kael."
"He can't ignore people."
The words struck Kael harder than expected.
Was that really how they had seen him?
Not as the strongest.
Not as the most talented.
Simply...
Someone who couldn't walk away when others needed help.
The scene blurred.
Another memory emerged.
---
Night.
Rain poured over the academy.
Most students had already returned to their dormitories.
Kael saw his younger self carrying buckets of water toward the infirmary.
Inside...
Several injured students lay resting after a difficult practical examination.
An exhausted healer collapsed into a chair.
"I still have five more patients."
Young Kael smiled.
"Then I'll stay."
"You don't know healing magic."
"I know how to change bandages."
The healer laughed weakly.
"You really don't know when to stop."
Young Kael simply shrugged.
"If someone needs help..."
His answer was so natural that it sounded almost childish.
"...why would I stop?"
The memory froze.
The Traveler spoke.
"Tell me, Kael."
"When was the last time you entered a battlefield because someone needed help?"
Kael frowned.
"I always fight for people."
"Do you?"
The Traveler's voice remained calm.
"Or do you fight because you believe only you can?"
Silence.
The question lingered.
Kael searched his memories.
The Kingdom War.
The Prison.
The Garden.
The Locks.
Every time danger appeared...
He walked ahead alone.
He never asked Lyra to help.
Never trusted Aren to shoulder part of the burden.
Never relied on anyone.
Somewhere along the journey...
Helping others had slowly transformed into carrying everything himself.
---
The darkness shifted once more.
A battlefield appeared.
Broken weapons littered the ground.
Smoke filled the sky.
Kael immediately recognized it.
The final battle of the Kingdom War.
He saw himself charging toward the enemy commander.
Then...
The memory stopped.
Everything became still.
The Traveler's voice echoed once again.
"Look behind you."
Kael slowly turned.
His breathing caught.
He had never looked back before.
Because he had been focused only on the enemy.
Now...
He saw everything he had missed.
Aren was holding the collapsing defensive line almost alone.
His shield had shattered.
His left arm was bleeding heavily.
Yet he refused to retreat.
Behind him...
Hundreds of civilians escaped through the mountain pass.
Lyra stood atop the ruined walls.
Blood trickled from the corner of her lips.
Her mana had long since been exhausted.
Still...
She continued casting barriers to cover Kael's advance.
Selene directed soldiers through collapsing streets, preventing complete panic.
Dozens of nameless knights fought until their armor broke apart.
Not one of them fled.
Kael stared silently.
He had remembered defeating the enemy commander.
He had forgotten the people who had made that victory possible.
The child appeared beside him.
Quietly.
"When you remember your victories..."
He looked toward Aren.
"...remember who stood beside you."
He looked toward Lyra.
"When you remember your strength..."
He smiled softly.
"...remember the people who gave you the chance to become strong."
The battlefield slowly dissolved.
Kael closed his eyes.
A heavy feeling settled in his heart.
Not guilt.
Gratitude.
For the first time in a long while...
He realized he had never walked this path alone.
---
Far away...
Outside the Hall of Forgotten Names...
Inside the Imperial Academy...
Lyra suddenly looked toward the northern sky.
The ancient manuscript before her turned another page by itself.
New words slowly appeared.
**The Gardener remembers the world.**
A second sentence followed.
**Now...**
**He must remember those walking beside him.**
At the same moment, Aren's silver shield mark glowed warmly beneath his sleeve.
Princess Seraphina's mana formation shifted once again.
Deep beneath the Holy Church, another chain around the ancient black sword snapped.
Across the continent...
Invisible threads began connecting people who had never realized they shared the same destiny.
Back within the Fourth Lock, the child smiled one last time.
"This journey..."
He looked directly into Kael's eyes.
"...was never meant to be walked alone."
The chamber filled with silver light.
For the first time since entering the Fourth Lock...
One of the cracks sealing it quietly disappeared.
Only six remained.